Mail-carrier system.



G. E. GONLE Y. MAIL CARRIER SYSTEM. APPLICATION rump PEB.1,1911.

990,842. Patented Ma 2, 1911.

illlllllllllllllllll'ilhllllllllllllllllllI4 ZE mi Q I Q wmmm airmen/0eE Con/lay we I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLARENCE E. G'ONLEY, OF PENN YAN, NEW YORK.

MAIL-CARRIER SYSTEM.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE E. CONLEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Penn Yan, in the county of Yates and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in lVIail-Carrier Systems,of which the following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in devices fortransporting mail between a house or dwelling and the main road or routeof a mail carrier, as particularly used in rural districts.

It is the main object of my invention to provide more practicalimprovements on my former Patent No. 980,209 issued Jan. 3, 1911 for alike device.

With this object in view my invention consists in the novel features ofconstrue tion, combination and arrangements of parts, which will behereinafter referred to and more particularly pointed out in thespecification and claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, Figure1 is a side elevation showing the two terminals of the system andintermediate parts; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of one of the supportingposts and brackets thereon; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail of the houseterminal of the system; Fig. 4 is a transverse section through the houseterminal as shown on line et4, Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a section as seenon line 5-5, Fig. 8, (showing the application of the chin clamps.)

In carrying out my invention I shall refer to the drawings in whichsimilar reference characters designate corresponding parts in theseveral views, in which 1 designates an elevated track formed of wire,and of any desired length, from which is suspended a car or the like 2,which car is substantially rectangular in design having the upwardlyextending arms 8 thereon carrying a pulley 4 which engages said track 1and is adapted to ride thereon. To relieve the track wire of its strain,I engage the ends thereof with coil springs 5, which springs have theiropposite ends adjustably secured to the brackets 6 carried by the frames7 which form the terminals of this mail carrying system.

Intermediate of the terminals 7 are any number of upright posts 8, tothe upper ends of which are secured the angular brackets 9,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. February 1, 1911.

Patented May 2, 1911.

Serial No. 605,895.

the outer ends of said brackets being designed to receive the track wire1, and thereby hold the same in elevated position. As these posts arepreferably of greater height than the terminals, it is necessary, ofcourse, to provide some means for the propulsion of the car on thetrack, which from the terminals to the posts, is inclined upwardly, andsaid means will be hereinafter described.

As stated, the car 2 is substantially rectangular in design, and carriesany desired form of letter-box 10, which is preferably snspended fromthe upper portion of the car by means of the hangers 11. I eliminate thebase rod, however, which I have shown in my former Patent No. 980,209issued Jan. 3, 1911, and provide the lower ends of the vertical portions12 of said car with arcuately designed grooves, which. are adapted toreceive an endless cable 13, and to securely retain the cable within thegrooves, chin clamps 1 1 are secured adjacent the lower ends of saidbars 12 and engage with the cable to hold the same in position and clampthe car thereto.

The posts 8 positioned intermediate of the terminals are also eachprovided with a substantially U-shaped bracket 15, the free ends ofwhich are bent downwardly to form securing portions 16 whereby the samemay be engaged with said posts, and the base portion 17 of thesubstantially U designed brackets, which extends vertically whenpositioned on the posts, has mounted thereon a pair of pulleys 18. Thesepulleys are arranged one above the other and held in position by meansof a guard or guide member 19, the upper end of which is curvedoutwardly as at 20 to form a finder or the like. These last referred tofeatures of the brackets, pulleys and guard therefor, form part of theimprovements that I have designed over my former Patent No. 980,209issued Jan. 3, 1911..

The cable 13, as stated, is an endless one and. passes around a guidepulley 21 at the road terminal of the system, said cable having. thereaches thereof elevated in alinement with the track wire by passing thesame over the pulleys 18 carried by the upright posts 8. The houseterminal is provided with a drive pulley 22, over which said cablepasses, and it is the power means for driving this pulley that alsoforms a part of my invention, which will be hereinafter described indetail.

The pulley 22 is carried by a horizontal shaft 23 journaled in suitablebearings of the horizontal arms 2% of the frame 7, and carried 'on saidshaft is also a pinion 25, which meshes With a gear 26, fixed to asecond horizontal shaft 27, which is also journaled in suitable bearingsof the horizontal arms 2st. A third horizontal shaft 28 also carried bythe arms 24 has mounted thereon adjacent its respective ends the twopinions 29 and 30, said pinion 29 being meshed with the gear 26, and thepinion 30' being meshed with the gear 31. Said latter gear 31 is themain drive gear andis mounted upon a shaft 32, which may be rotatedthrough any preferred means, as by a crank 33. Mounted upon one end ofthe shaft 28 beyond the pinion 29, is a fly or balance wheel 34, wherebywhen the crank 33 has been turned sufliciently, said wheel Will causesufficient momentum to complete the necessary rotatlon of the dr vewheel 22.

Fromthe foregoing, it Will be appreciated that by providing my improveddevice with the power actuated. means, as described and disclosed, greatpower Will be applied to the drive pulley with slight manual operation.Furthermore, it will be seen that by providing pulleys mounted uponbrackets intermediate of the terminals, and adapted to receive thereaches of the endless cable, the friction occurring in my former patentand causing endless trouble Will be eliminated. It will further be seenthat by the elimination of the base rod upon the car, as used in myformer patent, and the provision of the grooves and chin clamps on theverticalpon tions of said car, that said car will ride over the pulleysin its path with little or no difliculty. It will still further be seenthat the improvements as hereinabove described, are practical ones,absolutely necessary to the effective operation of the system.

What I claim is: V

1. In a system of the character described, the combination with a pairof terminals, posts-intermediate of said terminals, an endless cableengaging pulleys on said terminals, and means to drive said cable; ofU-shaped brackets carried by said posts, pulleys mounted one above theother on the outer ends of said brackets, said pulleys being in the pathof and in engagement with the reaches of said cable, and guards for saidpulleys removably secured to said bracket and forming guides for saidcable.

2. In a mail system of the class described, the combination with a pairof terminals, posts intermediate of said terminals, an endless cableengaging pulleys on said terminals and means to drive said cable; ofU-shaped brackets having the extreme ends of the arms thereof bent atright angles and secured to said posts, pulleys mounted one above theother on those portions of the brackets forming the substantial basesthereof, said pulleys being in the path of and in engagement with thereaches of said cable, and guards for the pulleys secured to the basesof said brackets and forming guides for the cable, said guards havingtheir upper ends curved outwardly to form finders for said cable.

In asystem of the class described, the combination with a pair ofterminals, a track wire extending therebetween and a car suspended fromsaid track wire; of an endless cable extending between said terminals, apulley mounted on each terminal over which said cable extends, amanually operated gear mounted on one of said terminals, shafts alsomounted on the last referred to terminal carrying a plurality of gearsoperating between the adjacent pulley and manually operated gear, and afly wheel carried by one of said shafts.

4:- In a mail transportation system, the combination with a pair ofl'Olll'llllfllS, a track Wire extending therebetween and a car ofsubstantially U-shaped design suspended from said track wire, said carhaving the free ends of the arms thereof provided with grooves; of anendless cable extending between said terminals, pulleys over which saidcable extends, U clamps removably sccnred to the arms of said car toretain the upper reach of said cable within the grooves thereof, andmeans to drive said cable.

In testimony whereof I hereunto atlix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses. CLARENCE E. CONLEY. Vitnesses 4 J OI-IN Gr. TrroMrsoN,MARY E. lVA'rKINs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

